Honor Guard, Family Child Care get new home

  • Published
  • By Corey Dahl
  • 21st Space Wing Public Affairs
PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. --  Two Peterson organizations now have a new facility to call home.

The base's High Frontier Honor Guard and Family Child Care Program officially moved into the newly renovated Bldg. 1465 on Oct. 30. With features including an outdoor practice space for the Honor Guard and a larger, more professional office for the FCC, officials from both programs said they couldn't be happier with their new home.

"The new facility gives visitors a professional, razor-sharp first impression of the High Frontier Honor Guard," said Master Sgt. Steven Dodd, the Honor Guard's superintendent.

The same couldn't have been said for the Honor Guard's previous home. The group moved into Hanger 140 in 1998, expecting the facility to be a temporary home. For the next ten years, though, the group had to share its cramped practice space with C-21 aircraft.

With no loading or parking areas on the flight line, members had to park their cars in the middle of the street when they loaded the group's equipment. And because firing around expensive aircraft is generally discouraged, the group had to travel away from their building to practice live-firing of weapons.

But the Honor Guard wasn't the only group in need of a home. The 21st Force Support Squadron's Family Child Care Program, which recruits and trains adults to run Air Force-approved home child care centers, was operating out of a tiny room in Bldg. 880, which was slated for demolition.

Both organizations saw their opportunity for a better home when AAFES' military clothing store vacated Bldg. 1465 in May 2007 to move to the new Base Exchange complex. Working with wing leadership, the groups were approved to move into the building, and renovations on the facility started last June.

The Honor Guard's new training space is almost four times larger than its previous home and includes a parking lot, a loading dock, separate dressing rooms and floor-to-ceiling mirrors. A large outdoor courtyard lets the group practice their live-fire training, and private office space for staff gives the group a private area to discuss ceremonies with grieving family members.
The new space, "not only fosters team morale, but also aides in reoccurring recruitment," Sergeant Dodd said.

The FCC program's new area includes better office and storage space and is located within walking distance of the main Child Development Center, where the program can use conference rooms for orientations and trainings.
Speaking at a ribbon cutting ceremony for the building, Col. Jay Raymond, 21st Space Wing commander, said the new facility exemplifies the wing's mission to provide superior installation support and protection.

"These programs provide superior support, and now they have a building that reflects that," he said. "This is a facility we can really be proud of."

 

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